


Overawed

by Augustus



Category: Five (Band), Popslash
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-05-28
Updated: 2002-05-28
Packaged: 2018-03-09 07:39:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3241613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augustus/pseuds/Augustus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ritchie likes to watch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overawed

Ritchie liked performing. He liked the way people's eyes would follow each toss of his (fantastically floppy) hair and the way that their gazes would dart from side to side as he tackled the complicated 5ive choreography. He liked being known as the 'pretty one' because it meant that most of the teenaged screams were directed at him - although there was usually a small group of middle aged men off to one side of the crowd who had eyes only for J. He liked signs that read "5ive Rulz" and "I luv U Ritchie" and sixteen year old girls who stood right in front of the stage wearing low cut tops. He even liked the singing and dancing part of things. Most of all, though, Ritchie liked watching Abs.

Abs didn't dance like the other boys. Instead of counting (one-two-three-turn-kick-bend) under his breath and watching the others to make sure that it looked like they were vaguely in sync, he seemed to actually be moving to the music, as strange as that seemed to Ritchie's mind. Ritchie liked it when Abs danced. His hair would bounce around in a manner that was almost - but not quite - as floppy as his own, quite denying the handfuls of carefully placed gel. His eyebrows would slide towards each other with concentration, or jump upwards in a casual acknowledgment of the crowd. If Ritchie was watching at the right moment, he might even catch a tantalising glimpse of chest as the bib of Abs' overalls slid to one side or the other during a particularly energetic dance move.

Abs' energy had always fascinated Ritchie. One minute he would be turning cartwheels across the recording studio and the next he would be flinging his arms around one of his bandmates, licking the side of their faces in a way strangely reminiscent of the large dog Ritchie's uncle had owned when he was very small. When Abs licked Scott, the reaction was always one of much grumbling and wiping away of the evidence. When he licked J, there were threats and the sort of words they weren't supposed to say in front of the press. When he licked Ritchie... well, Ritchie actually quite liked it. If he were a bolder sort of person, he might even have considered licking Abs back. As it was, he just smiled, giggled a little and watched as Abs flitted away again in that enviable way he had. 

On stage, it was easier to watch Abs without the other lads beginning to look at Ritchie as though he might well be going a little bit bonkers with the stress and excitement of the initial stages of establishing a world phenomenon. Ritchie certainly felt a little odd at times, but figured that his mother's Mills and Boon romances were probably right in suggesting that the fluttering in his stomach was less to do with insanity than it was to do with hormones. Sometimes, in front of a crowd, Abs would turn to grin at Ritchie and perhaps even toss a quick wink in his direction. While he appreciated the gesture, Ritchie didn't like having to think unsexy thoughts for the next few minutes when he would much rather have been watching the way that the seat of Abs' overalls tended to cling a little whenever he lifted one leg above a certain height.

Ritchie both loved and hated the 5ive costume department for judging that Abs' initial signature look should be overalls and nothing else. Well, underwear too, of course, but Ritchie knew better than to think _too_ hard about Abs' underwear when he was standing in front of a crowd, because thoughts of Sean and custard scum could only go so far. Sometimes J would slide a hand under the denim straps at Abs' shoulders and Ritchie didn't like that very much at all, especially as Abs seemed to quite enjoy the teasing contact. Ritchie thought that he would quite like to touch Abs' bare shoulders himself, but didn't believe he would ever be so bold. Floppy hair and bright blue eyes could only go so far, after all, and he didn't think he'd ever be able to compete with anyone who worked out in the gym for three hours each day and was old enough to order drinks in pubs without ever being asked for ID. 

It made sense to Ritchie that Abs might quite like J in the sort of way that Ritchie quite liked _him_. Ritchie thought that it wouldn't matter if something happened as long as he was still able to watch Abs on stage and as long as Abs continued to lick him with the same amount of vigour as before. He thought that he might stare at J a little more often, and in perhaps a less friendly manner, but that wasn't exactly jealousy so much as a way of dealing with a situation. He didn't think J would have much time to notice anyway, not between going to the gym and putting his hands in places that Ritchie didn't want them to be.

Ritchie liked it when Abs hugged him after a show. Sometimes he imagined sliding a hand right down the gap between Abs' skin and the denim of his clothing and touching the very underwear that he wasn't supposed to think about when there were people around to notice the response. Sometimes he imagined that Abs might not mind and might even wish that Ritchie's own outfit allowed for such manoeuvring. On those occasions, he thought about what it would be like to kiss Abs and what the curve where his neck met his shoulder would taste like beneath his lips. He didn't tell the others that he thought such things, though, not even Scott. He might have told his mum, but something inside his mind suggested that she may not want to know. So he just thought his thoughts and hugged Abs back and didn't do anything at all.

Which is why it was Abs who made the first move. At first, Ritchie didn't realise that was what it was. Abs tended to fiddle with his clothes a lot, especially if no one seemed to be paying him any attention, so Ritchie didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary when Abs slid his hands beneath his overalls and pushed the loose folds of denim outwards. At least, not until he looked down and realised that his thoughts and imaginings had been wrong from the very beginning because Abs didn't wear anything under his overalls at all. With such a huge revelation to cope with, it took quite a while for Ritchie to realise that breathing was essential to staying conscious and even longer for him to begin to wonder about whether Abs had, indeed, intended to reveal the secret of his overalls to Ritchie. 

By that time, of course, it was a little to late to start thinking about those things, because the unsexy thoughts didn't work very well at all when faced with an eyeful of non-existent underwear. When Abs first moved a little to the side, for a few seconds it seemed very much like he didn't quite appreciate the unavoidable reaction that had been stabbing him in the hip, and Ritchie had time to feel sad and embarrassed and even a little shy. And then Abs kissed Ritchie, and Ritchie couldn't really think about much at all any more. 

He did know that he liked kissing Abs. He knew that the curve where Abs' neck met his shoulder tasted like salt and cheap aftershave. He even knew that being licked was much nicer when you could tangle your fingers in Abs' hair while he was too distracted to care. Ritchie decided he loved the 5ive costume department for the simplicity of Abs' outfit, but hated them for the complexity of his own. There were too many layers and too many buttons and it was hard to wriggle out of his jeans when Abs was poised above him, one buckle undone and the bib of his overalls folding down into a perfect triangle. It was hard to do _anything_ when Abs smiled at him like that, unusually calm and still. Ritchie had a feeling that it might be him who made Abs smile like that. Not J after all.

Ritchie liked performing, but he liked being himself even more. He liked the way Abs' eyelashes fluttered involuntarily when Ritchie kissed a particular point on his neck. He liked the way Abs stroked Ritchie's hair as though it was a treasured possession and the way he ran curious fingers over the lines of Ritchie's lips. He liked the way their bodies fit together and the small noises that Abs made while Ritchie researched every inch of his skin. He liked feeling another person's heart beating in time with his own. He liked the way that his smile seemed to be permanently welded to his face. He liked the way that the fluttering in his stomach had turned into excited fireworks. 

Most of all, though, Ritchie liked Abs. And he had a pretty good idea that Abs might like him too.

**28th May 2002**


End file.
